RailEnquiry

The anxiety on the faces of passengers at the Central Railway Station here on Tuesday, a day after the tragic fire accident claimed scores of lives in the Tamil Nadu Express, was palpable. While the tragedy was the talking point for many, people wanted better safety measures installed in the coaches, especially something as basic as a fire extinguisher.

Many passengers who spoke to Express on Tuesday said they were completely shocked by the scenes of the ill-fated coach that played out on the TV channels.

It struck them that something as simple as a train journey, which many have taken for granted as a routine affair, could turn out to be life threatening. Passengers said one issue that especially worried them after Monday was the lack of fire extinguishers in the coaches. In fact, many who boarded the trains tried to look for the cylinders in their bogies but in vain.  “I will be travelling for hours to reach Bangalore. Given what happened in Nellore, that is a long time for anything to happen. But I am shocked that the sleeper classes do not have fire extinguishers,” said a passenger who boarded the Bangalore Mail. When Express checked with officials of the Southern Railway, they said fire extinguishers were available in the AC compartments. Asked why sleeper classes, which are the ones that usually become crowded, and one of which was gutted in the Tamil Nadu Express, did not have them, the officials said such installations could be the first step towards improving safety.

When Express asked if they knew what to do in times of a fire emergency, most passengers answered in the negative.  “I think I will jump out of the train immediately,” said Bhaskaran, proceeding to Vaniyambadi.